Desceptions
by JennyRegal
Summary: Regina didn't forgive her mother that easily. Now she must convince everyone she has flipped with a rather controversial plan. "It's the only way. What's more convincing than killing the Savior?"
1. Chapter 1

_I meant to start this a while ago, but I've been busy. Oh, yeah and I just met Mariska Hargitay from SVU. Happy Mardi Gras! (a day late)_

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"What is it that you want?" Cora asked.

Regina thought for a moment. This was the only time in her life where her mother had actually cared about what she wanted. She wanted so many things, but she knew none of them were possible. She wanted happiness. She wanted anonymity, to be able to walk down the street without eat-shit-and-die-bitch stares. If looks could kill…

But most of all, she wanted Henry's love. Regina thought about pulling over and giving into her mother, but then she remembered that it was her mother who framed her. So, she kept driving until she reached the station.

"You're really doing this, aren't you?" Cora asked. Regina got out the car and walked around to the passenger side to open the door. Cora chuckled as she stepped out of the strange carriage. "You're foolish if you think I'm surrendering that easily." With a flash of purple smoke, she was gone.

Regina didn't know what she expected. Did she really think her mother would humble herself just to please her daughter? She could feel her face contorting into a pout. She wanted so badly to cry, but wouldn't allow herself to. Instead, she slammed the passenger door shut as hard as she could.

As Regina entered the empty Sheriff's station, she realized something must have happened because there was a half-eaten sandwich on Emma's desk. After an hour of waiting, she decided to leave and come back in the morning.

As she was walking toward the door, Emma, Snow, and David entered. Everyone stopped short and slightly gaped at each other. Regina couldn't stand the awkwardness so she quickly spoke, "My mother did it." Emma nodded her head, "We know. Archie found us."

Regina looked puzzled. "He's not dead?" Emma shook her head, "No, and we're sorry for not believing you." Regina narrowed her eyes at Snow and Charming who didn't look sorry at all. If anything they looked disappointed.

At this point, Regina decided to ignore them completely. She had done a pretty good job with that since the curse broke. She had to deal with Charming for a while, but she could handle him in doses. It was Snow who crawled under her skin. Every word and every look made her want to strangle Snow. Snow was always perfect, and everything always worked out in her favor. Ever since the curse broke, she has been avoiding Snow. She has even looked her directly in the eye or talked to her for more than fifteen seconds. For Henry's sake, she was careful.

"We need to talk. Alone." Regina was very clear with that last word as she gestured toward the two idiots. Snow looked at Emma in protest. "I'm not very comfortable with that." After all, the last time these two talked, Emma was thrown twenty feet across Regina's front lawn. Regina quickly snapped, "I don't care."

Emma placed herself between the two and suggested they go into one of the observation rooms. As Emma shut the door, Regina began. "Cora came to me and tried to get me to side with her. I thought I had convinced her to turn herself in, but she was just using it as an opportunity to coax me back towards her. She disappeared, but I know she'll come back. She'll probably use Henry to get to me…"

"Wait, how do you know this?" Emma interrupted. Regina paused. "Because that's what I would do." Emma felt a chill crawl up her spine. She was starting to picture Regina as an evil queen. Regina could sense the tension building. "She knows Henry is my weakness."

Emma remembered what Cora had said to her back in fairy tale land about love being weakness. Emma paced a few times and then looked up at Regina. "We have to convince her that you're on her side. That you've snapped and no longer care about what Henry thinks of you so she won't need to use him."

"And how do we do that?" Regina asked. "Kill me. I mean, not really. Make it look as real as possible, and don't tell anyone." Regina looked a little surprised. "You realize your charming parents are going to kill me right?"

"It's the only way. What's more convincing than killing the Savior?"


	2. Chapter 2

Emma and Regina made up a fake plan that involved going to the dungeon under the library to retrieve something. Of course, Snow demanded to go with them while Charming stayed at the station.

"Okay, you operate the elevator and we'll go down." Snow was not satisfied with Emma's orders.

"No, you're not going down there without me." Emma rolled her eyes, "Someone has to work the elevator."

Snow looked aggravated. "It's just that…" she directed her gaze at Regina who returned the stare.

"I don't trust you." Emma wasn't sure what to do. Regina stepped closer to Snow.

"You shouldn't." Leave it to Regina to make a situation more tense and awkward. Once again Emma stepped between them, "Let's go."

Snow did what Emma had instructed her to do. Regina and Emma entered the elevator, and it started descending. The evil smirk on Regina's face evoked horror in Snow's. She was planning something. Snow decided to give them ten minutes until she would call David and go down herself.

Down in the dungeon, Regina magically transported a random body from the cemetery. With a wave of her hand, she disguised it as Emma.

Emma couldn't help but stared at the breathless version of herself lying on the cold dirt floor. "Wow, that looks real."

Regina nonchalantly remarked, "That's the point." Regina held out her hand, "Here, I'll take you to the hideout." Emma was hesitant, but took her hand anyway.

After she was engulfed in purple, she found herself standing in a room with no doors but several mirrors. "This is where you've been hiding?" Emma asked. Regina nodded as she swiped her hand over a mirror. Emma's reflection wobbled and then was replaced by the image of her body in the dungeon.

"This shows everything?" Regina looked for the right way to describe it, "it shows whatever is happening as long as I tell it to show, but yes. This is what's happening right now."

Then, the image showed Snow calling David. "She's going to get him to work the elevator and go down there. I need to go."

Regina reappeared in the dungeon next to Emma's body. Back in the hideout, Emma watched the scene unfold. Snow let out a gut-wrenching cry when she reached the dungeon and saw Regina standing over Emma's lifeless body.

"How could you?!" she yelled. Snow's words seemed to shatter the deafening silence. Regina gave an unsettling smile and vanished, leaving Snow to cradle her daughter and then carry her to the elevator.

In the two days that followed, Emma and Regina elaborated on their plan. Regina avoided using the mirror. Although she would love to see Snow and her Prince suffer, she knew that Emma wouldn't want to see her parents mourn her death. Regina may not always like Emma, but she was far more tolerable than her parents.

The neglect toward the mirror was a silent agreement between them. There was one thing neither of them wished to see. The sight of Henry was something that was unbearable to both of them.


	3. Chapter 3

After seeing no sign of Cora, Regina and Emma decided to take their plan to the next level. Since Regina has always wanted Snow White dead, they decided to go ahead and fake her death too. This time it would be in front of Charming so that he would start a crusade against Regina. If Cora sees that she has no place to go, she may try to win Regina over again.

So, one night after Charming had left the room, Regina appeared in front of Snow in her apartment. The two were silent. Regina slowly approached Snow with a menacing stare. For each step Regina took toward her, Snow took one back.

"What do you want from me?" Snow asked.

Regina kept advancing, "You're heart."

Snow's heart felt like it was on fire. She was so mad at Regina, but she also feared her. Regina could tell that Snow was trying to mask the fear, but she could see right through her.

Snow could feel Regina's eyes prying into her soul. She could see every weakness, but when Snow looked into Regina's eyes, all she could see was a wall of anger. Was the old Regina somewhere in there? The idea was hard to believe in this moment.

It wasn't until her back was against the wall when she called for David. Before he could advance toward them, Regina plunged her fist into Snow's chest and ripped out her heart. She made eye contact with David as she squeezed, and they disappeared with a puff of smoke.

When they entered the hideout, Regina let go of Snow's heart. Emma immediately ran to Snow to calm her down. "Mary Margret, it's okay. Look I'm okay." After a few moments of hyperventilation, Snow's eyes filled up with tears and they hugged.

Regina cleared her throat to get their attention. She was still holding Snow's heart. "The temptation to squeeze is growing. I need to… uh… put it back before…" Her voice trailed off.

Snow could tell she was trying real hard to stay detached from this situation. It must be killing her. The heart of the person she's always wanted to kill is in her hands, and she's trying not to squeeze.

Regina was focusing so hard on not squeezing that she was breaking out into a sweat. She tried to calm herself down by counting each breath that she took as she placed the heart back into Snow's chest. Snow had been holding Emma's hand. She still didn't trust Regina, and she was praying that Regina didn't snap right then and there.

Everyone relaxed a little when they saw that Regina's hand was empty as she pulled away from Snow's chest. She successfully returned Snow's heart to her body. Without saying anything, Regina left them and went to the bathroom.

Snow tried to dismiss Regina's behavior by looking around and commenting on the obvious. "So this is where she's been staying?" Emma explained the mirror and such until something caught Snow's eye. She had a mischievous look on her face. Emma could see that she was looking at Regina's purse that was lying on a nearby chair. There was an orange prescription bottle slightly poking out of it.

Snow shifted her eyes toward the bathroom and then back to the purse. She figured Regina was trying to get a handle on herself so she would have some time. She picked up the bottle.

"Emma, do you have your phone?" "Yeah." Snow was intently looking at the pill bottle. "Look up the drug Chlorpromazine." Emma gave her a curious look and started searching. "Got it." Snow walked toward Emma with the bottle still in her hands. After a few seconds of reading, Emma lifted her head.

"It's and antipsychotic." Snow half expected this, but still couldn't believe it. Emma had always known Regina wasn't quite right, but she attributed it to other factors. "It can be used for behavioral disorders, anxiety, and psychosis."

When Snow and Emma looked up from the phone, they saw Regina standing right there. She looked bothered, maybe even a little hurt. All she did was outstretch her hand requesting the bottle. Snow sheepishly gave it to her, feeling a little guilty for taking it.

Regina's hands were slightly trembling as she unscrewed the cap and popped a pill.


	4. Chapter 4

The three of them had been on constant lookout for Cora. "Look there she is!" Emma said pointing to the mirror which showed Cora lurking in an alleyway.

"I think she's looking for you," Snow suggested. Regina put on her coat and went to the alley.

As she approached her mother, a hint of fear flashed across Cora's face and she disappeared. "Mother, what?..."

Almost immediately after she disappeared, David came up behind her and slammed her against the wall of the adjacent building. The Blue Fairy fashioned magic repelling locks around Regina's arms and legs with her wand.

"You're going to pay for what you did!" David screamed. His face was extremely close to Regina's. His demeanor actually scared her. She knew what it was like to have nothing to lose. It changes you.

David's anger exploded and he punched Regina so hard that she nearly fell to the ground. He grabbed her neck and kept talking.

"Tomorrow you'll be executed in front of the whole town like you deserve." Regina put on her mask. "Is that so?" He punched her again.

This time, she fell to the ground, still shackled by the fairy's chains. When she was down, he kicked her in the stomach.

Regina forced a painful laugh. "Is that the best you can do?" He was about to do it again, but the Fairy stopped him. Emma and Snow winced with every punch. If only he knew they weren't really dead.

When they entered the station, the cell looked different. It was glowing with the same colors as the shackles were. Regina tried to resist, but David continued to drag her into the cell where her shackled were removed.

Regina tried to escape, but as soon as she touched the glowing bars, a shock was sent through her body and she was jolted back. Fear began to fill her eyes. This wasn't part of the plan. She wasn't supposed to get caught.

"There's no way out Regina. You're finished." When David left the room, Regina's eyes frantically searched the cell for anything that could help her escape.

Emma and Snow were watching with the same anxiety. "She's needs to get out of there!"

Regina's eyes rested on the bed. She started to take the sheets off of the mattress and began tearing the cloth into a rope-like strip.

"What is she doing?" Snow asked frantically. Regina continued to fool with the cloth. When she was done, it was obvious that she had created a noose.

"She's going to hang herself!" Snow exclaimed. Emma shook her head, "She's got a plan. David needs her alive for the execution." "But will it work?" Emma didn't have an answer. "I don't know."

Regina used the edge of the bed to support herself until David reentered the room. When he did, she stepped off the bed.

"REGINA!" David raced to unlock the cell door. Regina closed her eyes and tried to focus on staying alive. She could almost feel herself floating away until she felt David's hands trying to lift her and untie the noose.

David was standing on the bed, supporting her with his body and one arm around her waist. His other hand was trying to untie the not. Regina let out a choked gasp, and David realized untying it was futile so he reached into his pocket and grabbed a knife.

Regina felt a burning cold sensation rush and fill her head. Her vision was slowly coming back. She could just make out the outline of the cell door through the purple and yellow spots that clouded her vision. Her arms and legs were tingling, and she tried to move them so they wouldn't go completely numb.

Regina flinched when he cut the cloth, but immediately pushed David to the ground as hard as she could. The room was spinning and all she could she was silhouettes through the dots that were impeding her sight.

She stumbled urgently toward the door of the cell until David grabbed her leg, pulling her down from her crawling position. Even though she was halfway out the cell, she still couldn't use magic. Her whole body had to be out. She struggled to get her leg free.

David, who had also been crawling on the floor, managed to grab Regina's hair and yanked her head back. Regina was still insanely dizzy, but she still fought back. She reached backed and dug her nails into his arm. The second he let go, Regina kicked him in the face with her heel and pushed herself out of the cell. They both looked at each other, bloody, sweaty, and bruised. Then, Regina vanished.

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_I'm not sure when I'll update again. I'm usually quick about it, but school has taken over my life. I really should be studying now, actually. Hope you're enjoying it! :)_


	5. Chapter 5

So yeah, it took me really long to update. Sorry, my life has been crazy, and it's not going to get any less crazy anytime soon. I'm on Easter break right now and working outside of school. After this I have no more days off until the end of the year so I have no idea how often I'll be able to work on this. Obviously, I'm continuing as if Cora were still alive.

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When Regina appeared, Emma and Snow immediately jumped up. She managed to stand for about two seconds, but then collapsed, still breathing heavily. Snow ran into the bathroom and came back with a wet rag. Emma removed Regina's jacket and loosened as much clothing as she could.

Regina's breath slowed as Snow gently patted Regina's face and neck with the cold washcloth. Regina closed her eyes as she felt coolness hit her. She just wanted to lie there forever.

Snow and Emma continued to aid Regina until something caught their attention. They saw Regina's lip quiver. Snow wasn't really sure what to do. She hadn't seen Regina show fear before. She knew it was there, but Regina always hid it well.

It was obvious that what just happen had scared Regina to death. In addition to the sweating, bleeding, bruising, and short breaths, Regina was shaking. Then, Snow swallowed hard as Emma moved Regina's hair and shirt collar out of the way to show the thick reddish purple ring around her neck.

David must have scared Regina so much in that cell. Snow and Emma were shocked, and they were only watching through a mirror. Regina was starting to realize that her emotions were showing. She started to move a little to mask the shaking.

"Son of a bitch," Regina mumbled. Emma and Snow looked relieved and let out small laughs. After Regina insisted that she was fine, things began to quiet down.

The next day, Regina decided to check on David and Henry through the mirror. What was shown troubled all of them. David was a wreck, and Henry was with Ruby. Every time he would try and talk to David, he would shut him out. Henry reminded him of Emma which reminded him of Snow as well. Ruby was doing her best, but it was obvious that Henry needed his family.

"Regina, we have to clue him in on this," Emma said. Regina nodded her head.

That night, Regina waited until David was completely alone in the apartment. She knew she had to be quick about this so that the neighbors wouldn't hear anything. While David's back was turned, she appeared in her cloud of purple smoke. Before he turned around completely, Regina was already advancing toward him.

He barely finished saying her name before she covered his mouth with her hand, and flashed them out of the apartment and into the hideout. When she let go, his eyes filled with rage as he started toward her. His rage was turned into confusion when he felt Snow's hands on his chest.

"David, it's okay. Calm down." Snow said. Regina was still backing away slightly. She made small, steady movements as if she were trapped with an angry bull.

"You're alive?" David's face lit up with a smile. Tears started streaming down his face as he hugged his wife and daughter. "So then why…" David started.

"We're trying to catch Cora." Snow filled him in on the details. David didn't really know what to say. His eyes wandered the room as he processed everything. His mouth opened slightly as his eyes fell on Regina who was still standing a good distance away.

Regina continued to monitor David's behavior. She wanted to make sure he wasn't going to flip when he looked at her. Instead, his face grew solemn. Then, Regina noticed that his eyes had moved from her face to her neck.

She didn't like this. He was started to feel sorry for her. He knew how much he had sacred her, and now he feels sorry. Regina quickly cleared her throat and turned around before anyone could comment on what happened the night before.

"You can't tell anyone," Emma explained. David nodded. It was time for him to return to the real world. To return to his life and take care of Henry. Regina approached him without making eye contact.

"Ready?" She held out her hand. He just looked at her for a second, trying to read her before they disappeared. When they arrived in his apartment, David couldn't help but say something.

"Regina, about what happened at the station…"

"Stop." That's all she said. "Regina…" She turned her back, "I don't know what you're talking about." With that she left him standing there in confusion. Was she seriously going to act like it didn't bother her? Even he could see how scared she was beyond her careful, calculating demeanor.


End file.
